P.E.I. musician gets his stolen car back
Island musician’s car stolen by alleged impaired driver
P.E.I. musician Adam MacGregor has his vehicle back and it didn’t cost him a cent. RCMP Staff Sgt. Kevin Baillie said Wednesday that RCMP have made arrangements to pay all fees associated with the towing and impounding of the vehicle and have returned it to its owner. MacGregor’s car was stolen from the Grand Victorian in Victoria-By-The-Sea where he was getting set to play at the New Year’s Eve show. MacGregor left the keys in the ignition because he couldn’t find a place to park and wanted to make it easy for security to move it if they had to.
At the time it was stolen, all of MacGregor’s musical gear, as well as his wallet and cellphone, were in the vehicle. MacGregor had gone into the Grand Victorian to scope out the place before loading his gear. When he came out, his vehicle was gone.
Luckily, the vehicle was impounded indoors and the music gear in the vehicle wasn’t subjected to the frigid outdoor temperatures.
The RCMP did allow MacGregor to pick up his music gear and personal belongings the next day before the musician played a gig at the Old Triangle in Charlottetown.
Baillie said Wednesday that, as a result of a citizen report, the vehicle was stopped in Stratford, and the driver arrested for impaired driving.
“At the time of the stop, the officers involved were not aware that the vehicle had been stolen, and processed it as they normally would,’’ Baillie said in an email. “When the vehicle was reported as stolen, the officers were able to verify that it had been.’’
Baillie said the RCMP takes responsibility for the delay in making arrangements to have the impound vehicle lifted and returned to MacGregor. MacGregor thought the car was in the way and maybe the bouncer moved it.
“This was a close-ticketed event, so I’m not expecting there’s going to be any trouble or anything,’’ MacGregor said Tuesday.
Turns out, one of the patrons attending the event was extremely intoxicated and was asked to leave by security, who also called the patron a taxi.
Instead of waiting for the taxi, the man allegedly noticed the keys in the ignition of MacGregor’s car and decided to take it. “We drove all over town (in Victoria-By-The-Sea) wondering if someone pulled a prank on us. We imagined everything you could imagine except what happened. To steal the car from Victoria just seems to be the most ridiculous thing to happen. It’s like the nicest place on earth.’’ Shaken, MacGregor still went on with the show, albeit with no equipment.
He borrowed an acoustic guitar from another artist and performed.
At first MacGregor faced some challenges in getting his car back. Since November a new law on an impaired charge means an automatic 30-day impound, regardless of who owns the car.
“I got stuck in this loophole where my car got stolen and I’m being penalized for it. He’s the guy that did this, and his car is at home.’’
With his car now returned, it seems the Mounties were sympathetic to MacGregor’s predicament.